Iraq Radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's militia slowly began turning in weapons under a deal with the Iraqi government aimed at bringing a halt to months of deadly fighting in a Baghdad slum. Afghanistan A breakthrough agreement in Afghanistan's disputed elections was reached when the main rival to President Hamid Karzai said he would accept the result after an independent inquiry into charges of fraud. Libya The European Union agreed to lift an 18-year-old arms embargo on Libya, welcoming the country's renunciation of weapons of mass destruction and movement towards "responsible government." US National polls split over who was leading the US presidential race, but Democrat John Kerry showed signs of making headway against President George W. Bush in the decisive state-by-state battle. US Human Rights Watch listed the names of 11 senior Al-Qaeda suspects it said were held by the CIA in secret locations overseas, where some had reportedly been tortured. Nigeria Nigerian union leaders vowed to push on with a four-day general strike over rising fuel prices after side-stepping an attempt by President Olusegun Obasanjo's government to appease them with talks. Pakistan A Pakistani tribal leader linked to Al-Qaeda agreed to negotiate over the fate of two Chinese hostages after allowing a deadline for a threatened execution to pass. Mideast Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon moved to accelerate his plan to pull out of the Gaza Strip by announcing that a parliamentary vote on the controversial project would take place in two weeks. US Friends and fans paid tribute to the courage of Christopher Reeve, the "Superman" actor who died nine years after being crippled in a horse riding accident. Nobel Finn Kydland from Norway and Edward Prescott from the United States won the 2004 Nobel Economics Prize for business cycle research that has helped reform monetary policy in numerous countries.